N2652W will have a new home!

[hammdo]

Thanks! I'm sure you'll agree, she is still a great flyer.
I'm really enjoying this one. She is still humming along and flys wonderfully. With the updates so far, she is a real joy. 
 

- And yes, she likes to float -- especially on these hot Texas days ;o) if too fast...

-Don

[hammdo]

Engine is doing great! Another great Blackstone report. Like I've said, she likes this oil with Camguard.

Did notice a low fuel pressure (1 psi) with boost pump after sitting 12 days with the fuel selector in the off position. This was the first and only time I've ever switch to off. After talks with David, I pulled the plane out, pulled the quick drain (both tanks), then ran the boost pump again (still 1 psi). I then started the plane - fired right up. The mechanical pump showed between 3-5 psi for a few seconds then stabilized at 3.5. Ran boost pump, she went to 7 psi and stabilized. Ran it on both tanks, and did great. I did take the cover off where the boost pump/selector valve is to make sure no leaks. None found.

I should have drained a bit more from the quick drain before running the boost pump. This time I made sure the pull ring was fully seated. Gonna double check things tomorrow. If all is back to normal, I put the covers back on, do a longer run up then, if that is ok, fly her in the pattern.

With me starting it up, I was able to eliminate the fuel gauge as the problem. I did do a quick drain before locking up the plane the last time and it's likely I had the quick drain slightly open - that happened once before and I had a drip there. I'll be sure that is fully down next time (I have a zip tie on the pull ring to help pull it up). With everything reading normal again, I'll make sure there are no other areas with leaks. I'll also check the vents to make sure nothing got up there.

-Don

[hammdo]

We’ll I’m happy to report everything is exactly as it has been - boost pump and mechanical pump showed exactly as the previous trends were. Flew her and not a single blip. Now I know ;o)

-Don

[hammdo]

Finally replaced the 50 year old VOR/GS antenna and took her out today - she is singing loudly now! VOR, LOC/GS finally working consistently. Flew my first ILS with my instructor and was very happy with the performance.

Lots of IFR practice going on and I'm planning a check ride by end of September. Fingers crossed.

Plane has been flying well and all Avionics working great...

-Don

[hammdo]

Decided to not mess around and have the fuel selector valve rebuilt. I noticed a small blue stain at the selector and treated it with 3-in-1 oil. It stopped the stain but that tells me I need to do something. A small drip from the sump drain pretty much prompted me to contacted Don Maxwell and looks like I'll have it done next Friday. Don said it will take about 5 hours so I'll want to make sure I have just enough fuel with safe margins. It's not far from Mesquite thankfully. I'll be able to wait there and at worst, find a way back if it's not ready.

Don't want to mess with that...

-Don

[Marauder]

Decided to not mess around and have the fuel selector valve rebuilt. I noticed a small blue stain at the selector and treated it with 3-in-1 oil. It stopped the stain but that tells me I need to do something. A small drip from the sump drain pretty much prompted me to contacted Don Maxwell and looks like I'll have it done next Friday. Don said it will take about 5 hours so I'll want to make sure I have just enough fuel with safe margins. It's not far from Mesquite thankfully. I'll be able to wait there and at worst, find a way back if it's not ready.
Don't want to mess with that...
-Don

Are you saying it will take 5 hours to rebuild the fuel selector valve?


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk Pro

[hammdo]

RNR with rebuild Don said...

-Don

[hammdo]

Lots of IFR practice. I'm doing good but, found a bug in ForFlight and opened a support ticket.

While setting up for the ILS 18 to KTKI, I planned for a transition from BYP to the CFBHF fix. The planned view I saw was correct but the actual was way off - and so was the DH (700 DH vs the right 776 DH). Was very odd when the GNC 355 and ForeFlight approach plate didn't agree. The 3rd pic is what I had to do in order to get the right setup. Lesson learned. The last pic is where my CFII and I caught the discrepancy.

Going to DMax tomorrow for the fuel selector. 
-Don

[hammdo]

Selector valve fixed! DMax found a crack/leak in the pull ring sump fitting. His fix was perfect vs putting on an original one - no more pull ring! Saved me $500 and Works like a champ - Now I can sump all outside:

Edit: DMax did confirm that you need to start the plane when air may be present - boost pump won’t show pressure until that is done. We tested that today after my valve was rebuilt.

-Don

[hammdo]

So, I've been AOG at GYI since Saturday - mixture control - read about it here: 

 

and I finally received my McFarlane replacement today. Took it to the AP -- hope to get the plane back tomorrow! Check-ride is in 3 weeks!

-Don

 

 

[hammdo]

She’s flying again…

[47U]

2 hours ago, hammdo said:

She’s flying again…

Got a pic of the carb end of the mixture cable?  (Only if so inclined…)

[hammdo]

I’ll get that when I open her up. I’m curious too…

-Don

[hammdo]

Flying IFR with video from YouTube (its short):

For those interested, here is the hookup @ the carb for the mixture control and my flying with my CFII:

 

[carusoam]

Don is a budding YT star!

I increased his subscriber numbers by 2% today…

 

Best regards,

-a-

[carusoam]

What keeps the control piano wire from getting loose and backing out… torque or threadlock?

Best regards,

-a-

 

[hammdo]

LOL - youtube

Torque with Castle nut and cotter pin...

-Don

[David Lloyd]

So many years and it is still fun to cruise through the cloud tops.

[carusoam]

8 hours ago, David Lloyd said:

So many years and it is still fun to cruise through the cloud tops.

Modern day surfing…

It gives you a feeling of how fast you are really going…

-a-

[carusoam]

13 hours ago, hammdo said:

LOL - youtube

Torque with Castle nut and cotter pin...

-Don

I caught the video of the car doing a lap around the race track… with all the data being collected and displayed so nicely…

Kind of reminded me of CloudAhoy for the plane… an app that can really collect some very interesting data about your flight… including grading your procedures…

app, iPad, and WAAS source to the iPad needed….

Best regards,

-a-

[hammdo]

Yep, like CloudAhoy. And racing, lots of data collected!

-Don

[hammdo]

Decided to protect the seat David did so I installed the Covercraft AeroSheep seat covers -- was really very easy -- clips are greatly improved too!

After R-n-r the seats (using M20Docs steps), the seats came out easy.  I then did a good cleaning and brushing before I installed the seat covers.

Below are the pics before and after:

 

[hammdo]

Seat covers are nice! Did back to back IFR flights HQZ and GGG. Awesome...Carb temp probe is failing - flight tested diagnostics and it was in the red during flight. OAT also failed so I'm wondering how long these probs last from Insight. I'll need to call them next to find out. Pretty sure I can't replace the carb temp probe without AP sign-off. Those will have to wait a couple of weeks.

Outside of that, she's flying great and I'm pretty much ready for IFR ck ride. Fingers crossed for that...

-Don

[carusoam]

Don,

The life of a carb temp probe… is as easy as it gets….

It sees a small range from cold to warm….

and doesn’t see many oxidizing chemicals…

It is probably pretty easy to RnR…

I have never seen one up close, my C didn’t get one… but @Hank has one…

Best regards,

-a-

[Hank]

@hammdo, @carusoam

Thermocouples do have a lifespan and periodically need to be replaced. I would expect Carb Temp and OAT to have fairlyong lifespans since the range they both cover are pretty small. I've not had to replace either one since purchasing my C in '07.

At work, I've not tried to track the life of individual TCs, we have too many that operate in the 450-650°F range, on a 24/7 basis. . . . Our planes operate so incredibly much less than that!

If you fly 8 hours per month, ~100 hours annually, that's just 0.16% of a month's operation here at work. So at 5040 hours per month, that's 630 flying months, and our TCs last well over a month.